Reviewed by Danielle

TITLE: Outlast the Night
SERIES: Lang Downs
AUTHOR: Ariel Tachna
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
BLURB: Office manager Sam Emery is unemployed and out of luck. When his emotionally abusive wife demands a divorce, he contacts the one person he has left, his brother, Neil. He doesn’t expect Neil to reject him, but he also doesn’t expect the news of his divorce—and of his sexuality—to be met with such acceptance.

Neil takes Sam to Lang Downs, the sheep station Neil calls home. There, Sam learns that life as a gay man isn’t impossible. Caine and Macklin, the station owners, certainly seem to be making it work. When Caine offers Sam a job, it’s a dream come true.

Jeremy Taylor leaves the only home he’s ever known when his brother’s homophobia becomes more than he can bear. He goes to the one place he knows he will be accepted: Lang Downs. He clicks with Sam instantly—but the animosity between Lang Downs and Jeremy’s home station runs deep, and the jackaroos won’t accept Jeremy without a fight. Between Sam’s insecurity and Jeremy’s precarious position, their road will be a hard one—and that’s without having to wait for Sam’s divorce to be final before starting a new life together.

REVIEW:

First of all, let me tell you how glad I was to see a new “Lang Downs” book. This is one of the series that appeals to me the most as I am a big fan of the genre.

When I started reading the story, I was pleasantly surprised to get a peek into what’s currently happening on the ranch with Caine, Macklin and also Neil. The main characters of this story are Sam (Neil’s Brother) and Jeremy. Neil is a familiar character; those who have read the first two stories will remember him because of his change in attitude towards the gay owners of the ranch.

You will experience the dynamics between Sam and Neil in this story every now and then and that is a great example of the brotherly love, with its own ups and downs of course. The reason I specifically mentioned Neil is because he plays a big part in this story for not only being Sam’s brother but also since he hates Jeremy because of where he comes from. Jeremy lives with his Brother on a different (rival) ranch, Taylor peak. I don’t wish to reveal too much but I would say this – that brother is pure evil.

Jeremy and Sam both come to live in Lang Downs and they both connect. It is not hard to sympathize with either of them. You want Jeremy to be liked by the people who are constantly judging him for his upbringing or because of his nasty brother, and you want Sam to explore himself and to deal with a pending divorce.

We see a slow building of their relationship (too slow, perhaps?) and that is very pleasant to watch. You cannot help but cheer them on in some way or another. You watch them throughout their family problems, ranch problems and also, exploring their own feelings and emotions. Two well-written scenes in this story that captivated me were: the one with Jeremy showing Sam how to ride a horse and also, the introduction of a little fur-ball kitten. The behavior of the kitten (little bit/hawk) with Arrow (Jeremy’s dog) is so sweet that it makes you want to cuddle up to your own pet.

I would also mention the love between Macklin and Caine which is also worth reading about in this story. What Caine does for Macklin shows that their love is beyond limitations and to me that is beautiful and worth mentioning also in this review of the third book (which isn’t really centered around them).

Miss Tachna has a way of writing these characters with such style and passion that her characters speak to you from the pages you read. Yet there is also where comes my point of criticism.

Since I was so looking forward to this, I have to say I am a bit disappointed after reading this book. Where the first two books in the series got me mesmerized so much that I simply couldn’t stop reading, with this one I found myself getting distracted. As in all Miss Tachna’s books, the characters are portrayed well but I personally missed the chemistry that is normally present in her books.

Where is that hotness that comes with her books? I missed that extra touch in this third book. There were a few kisses shared by the boys, but that’s it. And there was not even one sex scene at the end? Not that I demand to have a sex-scene in every book I read but I believe, in this book it was needed. It would have been nice to see the confirmation of their relationship with it in the end.

Of course, I cannot deny the fact that Ariel Tachna is a fantastic writer and that I am sincerely looking forward to the next update in this series. The setting, the words and the characters are always genuine and a pleasure to read in her books. Moreover, seeing and reading about the other couples, especially Caine and Macklin, is a bonus on its own. And I can only hope the young couples featuring in these stories will also get their HEA.

I am personally hoping for the author to write a short bonus story (a free read, maybe) based on these characters, where Sam and Jeremy are very much involved and settled in their relationship. I would really like to see that.

Overall this book is still a good three stars for me but it could have been better.

Danielle’s Rating:

BUY LINK: Dreamspinner Press  ||  Book Store

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